Google Will Not Allow Google+ Profiles With Fake Names

If you create a Google+ account under a fake name, it might be suspended.

A Second Life user tried to create an account with the name of his avatar from the game, Opensource Obscure. According to Wagner James Au, Google suspended his profile.

Au followed up with a Google spokesperson, who confirmed that accounts should use real names.

Facebook does the same thing because it wants users to be able to find each other easily. But Google might have missed an opportunity to appeal to those Internet users who are better known by their online names than their real-world names.

Update: The user contacted us to let us know that Au's original story was wrong -- Google never contacted him, he contacted them to appeal the suspension of his profile. He never changed it to use his given name, nor did he put his Second Life name in a secondary spot. His profile is still suspended.